Welcome to Gotham
by Petra Gaia
Summary: Victoria Vale is the new photographer for The Gotham Times and after witnessing a murder by the Joker she becomes a target and involved in the frightening world of Gotham City along with some it's infamous residents. Plot follows TDK with some twists.
1. A Room with a View

**This is my first fan fiction. I wanted to try to add Vicky Vale into the "Nolanized" Batman universe, and to see if she could work, and how she'd interact with those characters.**

**The first chapter may come off as being "Mary-Sue" like, but don't worry, we'll get to know her a bit more in the next chapter. The last thing I want to do is write a Mary-Sue, but I wanted to start it off with a wee bit of excitement :)**

**I love _constructive criticism, _so please feel free to give me your thoughts! I want to make this an entertaining as possible. Thanks!**

Victoria had left something at work that day, a roll of film she wanted to develop. Gus was the guard that night, and he always had a soft spot for her, so she knew popping in real quick to grab it would be no problem. Victoria Vale was a photographer for the Gotham Times and one of the staff's newest members. After years of working her way up doing freelance photography, first for local newspapers papers, then eventually getting noticed by bigger, more mainstream ones, she decided it was time for a change. The editor for the Gotham Times was impressed by her work, and the next thing she knew she was moving to the center of the notorious metropolis. This is usually the time when people say the "heart of the city", but she knew better. This city now had little to no heart.

But this was her home now.

She parked her car behind a tall building and hurried inside. She knew she left that roll on Bill's desk, near the window on the third floor. After Gus gave her his usual sweet hello that stern old men like himself normally try to hide, she took the elevator. Once she arrived, she hurried over to Bill's desk. "Found it!" she thought, as she picked up the film. She stood for a moment, and out of curiosity, she glanced outside, down at the street. During the day, this street would be packed with cars, buses, and pedestrians, but now in the middle of the night, it was empty. She stood there for a moment, taking in the view. As notoriously bad as Gotham's reputation was, there was something beautiful about this city. When she found out she had been hired by the Gotham Times, she was ecstatic. Her mother however had felt very differently, as any sane parent would. Victoria replayed her mother's pleading in her head, how she begged her to get a job anywhere except in the dead center of one of the country's most dangerous cities, and how Victoria argued that she wasn't a child and could take care of herself. She sighed as she remembered that conversation, and continued to admire the view. After a few minutes she started to walk away, but something caught her attention down at the very end of street. There were three men, one of which who seemed to have a particularly odd look about him. She leaned closer towards the window, but still couldn't see them that well. She sighed, she knew she should just ignore this and go home, but as usual her curiosity got the best of her. She pulled out her camera and used the zoom to get a closer look.

"Oh my God." Victoria lowered her camera.

The man in front wore a purple suit that looked like it had seen better days, underneath, a green vest that matched his ratty hair. His face was painted white, with a carved red smile, and two black holes around his eyes. The make-up was probably put on hours, maybe even days ago, judging by how horribly obscured it was. The two men behind him had masks that matched his deranged face, and each looked like they were armed. She heard stories, read articles, and seen reports on the news about the man in front. Everyone in Gotham had. He had become the single object of fear in a city that had become desensitized to the very word. Barely anybody had seen him, and lived to tell about it. And here she was, looking down at him from the third floor.

This man was the Joker.

She leaned against the desk, and finally took a breath. Her fingers clutched the edges as she tried to keep breathing. "I can't believe this", she thought. She at that moment began to recall all of the twisted actions of this human being. "That's using the term loosely", she muttered to herself. Victoria looked down at her camera, and back down at the street. "No one has been able to get a picture of this guy", she thought to herself. At least, none the police were willing to release. Her eyes slowly looked up. She thought about this for a moment, and raised the camera back up, making her decision. She aimed it, and started taking pictures. At this point he and the two men were almost in front of the building. "What are they doing here?" she wondered. "And why are they just walking down the street, in plain sight?" Then again, this was the Joker. His actions were at best confusing as hell. She couldn't wait to tell her co-workers about this, these days it seemed the only things the media cared to report were stories of the Batman and the Joker. She continued to take pictures of him. There was a cadence to his walk, the Joker's walk. It was fanciful, and yet savage all at once. She noticed this, as she continued to capture him in her camera. After all of the things she had read and seen about the Joker, nothing could quite prepare her for what she saw in person. There was a mixture of horror and fascination in her observing. She'd never admit it, but one of the main reasons she moved into the city was so she could maybe see one of these fantastical, practically mythical characters in person. Deep down, she had been hoping for a moment like this.

She didn't realize how many pictures she had taken until her new roll of film already ran out. "Damn", she thought as she started to switch rolls. While looking in her bag for another roll, her spine suddenly froze. The most horrible sensation of a paralyzing burn went through every vein in her body. She looked down at the street.

The Joker was staring right at her.

"Jesus Christ!" she gasped, and almost fell back on the desk. She couldn't breathe. She was only on the third floor, standing right next to the window. Of course he could see her. She just stood there for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. She cursed herself for being so stupid. She tried to calm herself down. Even though she was now away from the window, she could still feel his eyes on her, and it made her shudder. Never before had she seen such malice in someone's eyes, as she had just seen in his. She clumsily grabbed her things. Now seemed like a very good time to go.

As Victoria headed away, she immediately started to doubt the preceding events. It was too surreal. "This can't be happening, maybe I just imagined it", she thought. She could barely think, with the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. The denial of what just happened increased by the second.

She had to look again, to prove it happened. She _had_ to. She was ashamed of her need to validate what she saw, but she went back anyways. She peaked her head, just enough to see.

Nobody was there.

She went up against the window and looked down both ends of the street.

Nobody.

Maybe it didn't happen after all, maybe she was just daydreaming and taking pictures of nothing, and it was all just some wild-

_BANG BANG._

She snapped her head around. She knew she heard that. Those were gunshots, and they sounded very close. In fact, they were too close. Then it dawned on her.

"Gus…"

She covered her mouth in horror. They weren't anywhere on the street, and in that short time, the only place they cold have gone was _inside_.

"Holy shit."

There was only one reason for them to do that. She saw him, she took an entire roll of pictures of him, something no one else has ever done. He saw her do this, and he was the type that needed little to no motivation to hurt someone. He was coming for her. _The Joker was coming for her._

Victoria began to panic and started cursing to the point where the words were slurring together into one large muddle. She grabbed her blond hair in her hands, and tried to calm herself. "Snap out of it, Victoria!" She told herself. Her breathing was quickening by the second, but came to a dead stop when she heard a very familiar sound.

_BEEEEEEP._

That was the elevator. It was coming up.

Victoria's mouth dropped open, and her bag fell out of her hands. "Jesus fucking Christ…" her voice trailed off. She was completely paralyzed. Dozens of thoughts went through her head. In a split second the entire evening's events replayed themselves. All the conversations she had with her mother, trying to convince her to not take the job, all of her warnings, replayed. All of the horrible words from the articles Victoria read describing the Joker's actions; "slaughter", "psychotic", "deranged" flashed before her eyes. She wanted to cry, but was too scared to even blink.

_BEEEEEEP._

One more and the Joker would be on the third floor, _her_ floor. She finally snapped out of her daze, and grabbed her bag. She ran for the stairs, her only thought was to get the hell out of the building. She ran so quickly, that she didn't notice that her wallet fell out of her bag when she grabbed it from the floor.

A few moments passed. She was almost all the way down the stairwell now.

_BEEEEEEP._

As the elevator doors opened, the sound of whistling came out. The Joker didn't even look up as he walked out, wiping blood off of his small knife. He continued to whistle as he slowly strutted, practically skipping, towards where Victoria had stood. His two thugs followed him out of the elevator.

"Boss", one of them said, "I think she's takin' the stairs, we could get her right now-"

"No no no no." The Joker lazily drawled the words out as he continued to clean his knife. He looked up at the ceiling and licked his lips as he put the knife away in his pocket. He sighed, obviously disappointed, then looked at his henchmen. "I'll deal with the photographer later." He strolled to a desk that had a bowl of various candies, and started to chew rapidly on a piece. "The night watchman's, " he stopped, chewing more rigorously, "been properly arranged, yes?" He grabbed some more pieces and put them in his pockets. "We've done what we came here to do. This, uh", he started to knock things off of people's desks, "girl, she can wait." Although he was hoping to see the look on her face when he arrived. "_Next time_", the Joker thought to himself. He jumped now every time something hit the floor now, sometimes letting a joyous exclamation. Eventually seeming satisfied, he cracked his neck and straitened out his suit and tie. He wondered if this voyeur of his would see the old _smiling_ guard downstairs. He chuckled at this thought.

The thugs stared at him, as he took in his surroundings like a young child in a new, exotic place. Suddenly, Joker looked down, and noticed the small leather wallet, lying on the floor. "Ooooh. Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk", the sounds rapidly rolled off his tongue, "such carelessness." He picked it up delicately with his gloved hand. "Besides, little Gretel, er", he opened the wallet, "Ooooo, Victooooria, here was sweet enough to leave us brrrrreadcrumbs." He smiled to himself as he thumbed through Victoria's wallet, cocking his head as he looked at the pictures inside. As much as he wanted to make a house call that night, he knew he had bigger, more important fish to fry. "Bigger bats and D.A.'s, anyway", his thought was interrupted by a loud screeching, obviously speeding car from outside. "Most likely the elusive voyeur's", he thought. "The old coppers are probably on their way now, time to dash!" They all quickly walked away. The Joker put Victoria's wallet in his pocket, the photographer could come in useful later.


	2. Bad Coffee

**Author's Note: Thank you for the favs! My story was only up for a day and I already got these emails telling me that people added it to their favorite's, so thank you so much! I'm not gonna lie, I squeed a little :P  
**

**And for individual thanks:**

**Chicki Babie: My first review ever! Thank you for the kind words **

**Blonde Charger: Thank you! Those last two paragraphs were the hardest to write, so I'm glad that you thought I captured the character :)**

**And really quick, just to clarify, Victoria Vale (or Vicky Vale as she is more well known) IS NOT some OFC I created, she is a legitimate member of the Batman mythology, and I wanted to try to incorporate her into the Nolan universe of Batman. I obviously have taken some liberties with the character to try to make her fit in and make her more realistic.  
**

**Thank you again!**

Lieutenant Gordon sat down at his desk, handing over the warm mug of coffee to the frazzled young woman sitting in front of him. "I hope you like watered down coffee." Victoria laughed; it was the first time she had smiled after hours of being at the police station.

"I'm sure it's fine." She said while cupping the warm mug with her hands. She took a sip, her face souring. "Oh god, that _is_ awful." She put the mug down, but kept her hands around it. At least then her palms could be warm. Gordon let out a small laugh, as he reached down and grabbed a bottle of water.

"I can't stand the stuff either", he handed over the bottle, she smiled thankfully. She couldn't help but feel comfortable around Lieutenant Gordon. He seemed like one of those rare people who were genuinely _good_. He took a breath.

"If the Joker wanted you dead, you would be already." She looked up. "The worst is over." He smiled at her. Victoria couldn't help though but feel a sense of foreboding as she looked into his eyes. He looked down, his face slightly hardened. The worst may be over for her, but her only.

"Lieutenant", Detective Ramirez walked into the room. Gordon looked up at her.

"Another guard was found three blocks down." she handed him a file. He scanned the pages.

"David Tabster", he read from the pages, "same M.O." he said, obviously not expecting anything different.

"The Joker also underlined letters on his name tag", she added, "'t', 'a', and 'b'."

"And on Gus Manfield's, 'm', 'a', and 'n'." He replied.

"_Batman…_", Victoria spoke as she pieced the letters together in her head. Both Ramirez and Gordon looked at her, she looked back up at them.

"The Joker is telling us something", Gordon said, "A target, possibly. Let Weurtz know." Ramirez nodded her head as she headed out of the office. Gordon looked back at Victoria. "You're lucky your last name only had an 'a' in it." Victoria raised her eyebrows in mock relief. She sat back in her chair.

"Oh God, Gus…", she said as she slowly shook her head. Hearing his name stung, and brought back the all too recent events. She'll never forget the look on his face when she ran past him from the stairwell, how his eyes seemed to be locked in that look of terror, how he was _smiling, _how she had to cover her mouth to suppress her scream. She leaned her head in her hands, her voice softening. "He was only two years away from retirement", the words were decaying as she spoke, "he always told me how he and his wife were going to move to Hawaii when he was done, how he'd bring his grandkids…" she stopped, lost in her words. Gordon walked from behind the desk towards her, and knelt down so that they were eye level.

"Hey hey hey", he spoke calmly and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I could have… I… I could have… done _something_…", her words grew weary. The term "be careful what you wish for" also made itself severely tangible. When she moved to Gotham, she never thought she'd actually see one of its notorious residents, much less be in a police station because of it. She closed her eyes for a second, taking in this thought.

"No, don't do that to yourself", Gordon looked strait into her eyes, concerned, "you didn't do anything wrong." She looked up at him. Victoria didn't forget how she stood there for a good _five minutes_ taking pictures of the psychopath instead of calling the police. She damned herself, her constantly nagging curiosity, and her need to capture everything in her camera.

"_An emotionally detached observer"_, she uttered while looking at the floor, barely audible. Gordon looked at her, slightly confused, but she just shook her head, "nothing." She didn't want to bring up _that_ memory now.

"What you need right now is to go home and rest. I can have a patrol car stationed in front of your apartment complex."

"No, you don't need to do that-", she argued.

"I'd feel a lot better knowing you were safe", he said as he stood up. Indeed, Gordon really was one of those rare good people. If her father hadn't walked out of her and her mother years ago, she would have wanted him to be like Lieutenant Gordon. She smiled, somewhat bitterly, at this thought.

"Thank you", Victoria hadn't ever said those two words with such sincerity before in her entire life.

"And take my advice, try to not think about tonight. Sometimes having to deal with the aftermath of these…", Gordon trailed off a bit, "well, it gets to you." Gordon's face once again portrayed a sense of foreboding, as if reflecting the tragedies of his experiences. He sat back down behind his desk. Victoria nodded, more than happy to look for a reason to try to block this night out of her head. She stood up, more than ready to go home and wash away the past few hours.

"I've only been here for a month, and I'm already in a police station reporting a murder", she said this more as a spoken thought than anything else, as she got up to head out of the lieutenant's office.

"Welcome to Gotham", Gordon said, almost a bit wryly.

...

Many nights, Gordon stood on the rooftop staring into the marked sky, never expecting his call to be answered.

But tonight wasn't one of those nights.

He turned around, and saw the dark figure, standing there as if he had always been so. Gordon tossed over the file with the two deaths. "He's definitely trying to get your attention." Batman opened the file and quickly scanned its pages. "Two guards, three blocks away from each other, same M.O…."

"The underlined letters", Batman started. Gordon obviously already saw the significance.

"Do you think he's trying to target you?" Gordon asked. Batman looked down at the city that he was slowly trying to reclaim. First the bank robberies, and now this, but criminals were not complicated. That was one good lesson he learned from that experience, which seemed so long ago now. Batman could already imagine the frenzy that would occur the minute the press got a hold of this information. The _escalation_ of their fears and paranoia, and who they would blame.

"He already has", the dark figure responded. Gordon turned away from him and looked down at the city, worried for what may come. When he turned around to ask another question, the Batman was already gone.

Gordon sighed, "I'm never going to get used to that."

...

Victoria walked into her apartment, which still looked slightly disheveled from the move in. She took the two rolls from her bag and put them on a far away corner on her desk. She stared at them for a moment.

How harmless they appeared, she noticed. A few hours ago she couldn't wait to develop them, and now the thought of it made her physically ill. She could almost feel his stare, just from the tiny negatives hiding inside the plastic casings. She shook her head and left the room, as they sat in the dark corner, silent.


	3. Smiles Everywhere

**Author's Note: Thank you again to the people who added it to their favorites and story notifications! **

**And for individual thanks:**

**DestinedJedi87: Thank you for the kind words and the advice. I took the advice you gave me to heart while writing this chapter, I really appreciated it. Hopefully I did a better job this chapter with characterization. Thank you again :)**

**Gnome3000: Thank you so much! What you said made me smile ;**

**K.D. Sparrow: Thank you! Well... here is more!**

**And major cookie points to whoever notices the "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker" reference.**

...

Victoria didn't dream at all that night, which was a strange surprise. When she woke up, the first thing she saw was the sunlight coming in through her dusty windows.

She thought she'd be happier to see the daylight, but the memories more than lingered. As hard as she tried to take Lieutenant Gordon's advice, she still couldn't help but think of the previous night. She wondered if that's how the sunlight looked in Hawaii.

She leaned to her side to check the time on her phone, but was greeted with something else.

"11 MISSED CALLS. 5 NEW VOICEMAILS", the screen read.

"Ughhh", she groaned as she flopped down on her bead, rubbing her eyes. It's a good thing she decided to put her phone on silent before falling asleep. She'd wait until later to check them, she didn't want to deal with them now.

When she got out of bed she walked to the window and looked down on the street. Sure enough, a patrol car was there. She smiled, "Thank you, Gordon", she whispered. On her way to the shower, she glanced at the two rolls of film. They sat in the only shadowed corner of the desk. "Heh", she softly exclaimed, it was almost poetic.

After finishing her morning ritual, she bit the bullet and checked her messages. One was from her boss telling her that the office was closed that day and why. He obviously hadn't found out about her involvement yet. The second was from her coworker Bill, asking her if she was okay. He must have found out.

The rest were from her mother.

"Of course", she grimly thought to herself. She was convinced that her mother checked Gotham related news at least three times an hour these days. Of course _she'd_ find out.

"Victoria, it's your mother. Please call me back, I just read that a guard was murdered at the Gotham Times and that there was a witness. You weren't the witness, were you? I knew you moving there was a bad idea. Just call me back as soon as possible so I don't worry, I just want to know you're ok." Nine of the eleven missed calls were from her, and the remaining two messages were overly dramatic elaborations of the first.

She called her mother first to get it out of the way. She lied about being a witness. Hearing the words "I told you so" coming out of her mother's mouth would make nails on a chalkboard seem like a mockingbird's sweet melody.

She was so thankful that her name was not mentioned in the reports to the press, but it was inevitable for her coworkers to find out. "Hopefully they'll keep their mouths shut", she thought to herself, the last thing she needed right now was extra attention.

Victoria sat in the living room, leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed. An array of emotions clashed in her head like oil and water, mainly anger and annoyance with herself. "Isn't this what you wanted?" her mind asked, "to be _involved_?" She couldn't ignore the blatant irony that flooded the situation. She sighed, and tried to clear her head.

The two rolls of film, stared at her like a pair menacing eyes, _his_ eyes. Even as the sun slowly rose, they still managed to reside in the only dark corner. "I need to get out of this apartment", she muttered to herself, anything to take her mind off of things. Maybe Bill would want to grab a cup of coffee on this sad vacation.

Victoria used spare cash out of a pocket to pay for their coffees that day, she didn't even notice that her wallet was missing.

…

Bruce had just gotten back from the seemingly serendipitous double date. He could tell from the expression on Rachel's face that she knew their meeting at the restaurant wasn't exactly accidental, but he'd never expect anything less from her. Alfred walked into the penthouse, carrying a tray that held only a mug of warm milk.

"I suppose Ms. Dawes wasn't at all surprised by you and your friend's arrival?" Alfred said as he walked towards Bruce. Bruce smiled as he took the mug from the tray, "was it a successful evening?"

"Very. In fact, I'm going to be throwing a fundraiser", Bruce replied as he took a sip.

"A fundraiser, sir?" Bruce nodded. "I'm not going to have to save you from a burning building at this event, am I?" Alfred said as a corner of his mouth slightly raised itself.

"No, but you will have to try to smile a couple of times", Bruce said, and the grin on Alfred's face grew, obviously pleased with his response. He loved these conversations with Alfred, sometimes they were the high point of his day. His old friend always knew how to keep him on his toes when it came to witty retorts and responses. "It's going to be held here", Bruce said as he loosened his tie.

"At least you'll get some use out of this penthouse", Alfred said as he picked up the now empty mug of milk, "and when will you be hosting this festive occasion?"

"Two weeks from now."

"Ah, I'll call the caterers then." Alfred said as he started to head out of the room.

"Call the Gotham Times, have them send Victoria Vale to be the photographer."

"Victoria Vale, sir?" Alfred said, intrigued by this specific request.

"She was the witness to one of the murders last night", Bruce said as he unbuttoned his shirt, "I want to keep an eye on her, and maybe", he paused while he pulled the shirt over his head, "even get some more information about what she saw."

"And do you plan on doing this as Bruce Wayne?" Alfred asked, obviously a bit wary of him acting suspiciously.

Bruce hoped that using his charming billionaire playboy persona would be enough to have her open up about that evening. Most women responded positively to it, except Rachel. Another reason why he admired her, she hated seeing him whenever he was putting on a show, almost as much as he hated having to put on that persona in the first place, but it was a necessary evil.

There could be no Batman without Bruce Wayne.

If that didn't work, he'd pay Victoria a visit as the masked vigilante. If it meant getting one step closer to capturing the rising criminal, then he'd willingly oblige. "We'll see", Bruce replied.

"Very good, sir." Alfred said, and with that, he left Bruce by himself in his empty watchtower, looking over the city.

…

Victoria had been home for a couple of hours from her coffee date with Bill, it was nice to get out of the apartment. She told him about what had happened, but him only. When she returned, she decided to try to organize her belongings to preoccupy her mind. She had the television on in the background, but she stopped when she heard something all too familiar.

"There have been four more Joker killings within the past 24 hours", the television announced.

Victoria slowly turned her head to the glowing screen, and dropped the box she was holding. Just hearing his name made her entire body become numb.

"All four of the men were security guards, and all of them had last names that contained the letters from the name 'Batman', letters which the Joker underlined himself on their nametags."

"Oh God, no…" the words barely escaped her mouth. Four more dead, because of her, because of her unwillingness to interact, because of her need to stay an observer, a _detached observer._ She sat down, her legs had practically lost all feeling. Victoria was barely able to hear the next few minutes of the GCN Report, she was so completely isolated in her own horror.

"Now Gotham, I ask you, what does this mean? Is the Joker trying to call the Batman out? Or is it possible the two are working together, the murdering criminal, and the vigilante who works _outside of the law_?" Victoria turned off the television, disgusted by the last question that the reporter, Mike Engel, asked. He had always had an obvious bias against Batman, and he never strayed away from an opportunity to express it.

After a few minutes her phone started ring, she picked it up and read the screen, "Bill." Right now he's the only person she'd answer her phone for.

"Hey", she answered.

"Have you been watching the news?" he asked.

"I just turned it off", she said softly, trying to hide her emotions.

"Do you have a local map?"

"Um, yeah. Why?" she replied, confused by the question.

"Go get it, and grab a marker."

"Uh, sure, hold on", she went off to get the marker, and the map that saved her life multiple times when she had just moved the large city. "Okay, got 'em."

"Okay, now put a large dot at the Gotham Times, and where the second guard was found down the street", Bill instructed. She did this, wondering where this was going. "Now, put a small dot at 82nd and 10th street, 80th and 7th, 78th and 7th, and 76th and 10th, those were where the other four guards were", Bill continued. Victoria could tell that Bill was trying his hardest not to use the word "murders", and she appreciated this.

"Okay, now what?"

"Now draw a line connecting the last four." Victoria did this, and when she finished the marker fell out of her hand.

The map now had a _large smiling face _staring right at her.

"Oh my God… How did you figure this out?" Victoria asked.

"The first two guards already spelled out 'Batman'. Knowing the Jo-", Bill stopped himself for a second, "Knowing this guy, there had to be a reason for the other four", Bill pointed out very humbly. Victoria couldn't believe what she saw, but there it was. Now Gotham itself was stained with his maniacal grin. A sickening feeling started to overcome her as she stared at the now tainted map.

"I think I need to sleep now, Bill, but thank you for telling me", she said this as politely as she could. She really wished that he hadn't, though.

"Oh, of course. Good night, Vic", he said.

"Night, Bill." She looked at the map for a moment. Having the two rolls of film constantly spying on her was one thing, but having a second pair of _his_ eyes, _his_ face in her apartment was not acceptable. She knew that Lieutenant Gordon probably already saw the significance of the last four murders. She needn't bother him. He already had an entire city to look after. She took the map and crumpled it up as much as she could before throwing it in the trash. She'd take the bag out the next day, so her house would be cleansed of it.

…

Lieutenant Gordon was alone in the room, leaning against a table at the MCU. He crossed his arms while staring at a large map of the Gotham that hung on the wall. The worries that constantly haunted him slowly seeped through his stern face as he took off his glasses and sat down, leaning his head in his hand. He sighed, and looked back up at the wall.

The entire time, the map simply _smiled_ at him.


	4. An Invitation

**Author's Note: Thank you again for the kind words! I apologize if this chapter seems a bit boring, but exposition is a necessary evil, is it not? The next chapter will be more exciting, I promise (I mean, it will be the dinner party after all) ;)**

**Individual thanks: **

**The King of Soda: Once again, thank you! I don't want to give anything away, but I'll just say that I won't be changing any _major_ plot points. But little Victoria will earn an important place amongst these characters, so no worries ;)**

**Haladfire65: I'm glad, thank you!**

**K.D. Sparrow: Yay, I'm glad! I hope I don't disappoint. **

**Pirate College Graduate: Thank you thank you thank you! As you and I have already discussed, yes, he is a pain in the ass to write, is he not? But, we love him anyway, haha. **

**Enjoy! **

...

The next week went by more quickly than Victoria had anticipated, which was welcomed occurrence. Everyday when she woke up, the first thing she would do is look out her window to see the patrol car on the street. Everyday she expected it to be the last day, but she was always wrong. She would eventually have to thank Lieutenant Gordon personally for this.

Once the surge of curiosity had finally died down, everything at work had gone back to normal. She never dared to look at the security guard station on the ground floor. The memories with their obtrusive images caused her stomach writhe and create a dizziness that reverberated throughout her entire body. "And the four others after", she thought to herself grimly. She had to try so hard to ignore the fact that she was standing in one of the pinpoints of the Joker's special class of graffiti.

No one asked her about what happened, her boss Kevin undoubtedly had something to do with this. The only person she discussed that evening with was Bill, the first person to befriend her when she moved to this city, and probably the only real friend she had at the Gotham Times, and in Gotham for that matter.

She walked over to Bill's desk to pay him her usual daily visit. He waved at her when he saw Victoria coming.

"Hey, Vic", Bill said in a welcoming tone.

"Hey Bill", she replied. Victoria returned the wave with a two-finger salute.

"Did you get the conference photos for Kevin?" Bill asked. Part of being a photographer for a newspaper unfortunately meant going to every single press conference that took place. Although this week Victoria welcomed them, anything to take her mind off of things.

"Yeah, I'm just about to drop them off", she replied, "How did things go with the ex last night?"

"Same", he said sadly, "She, uh, is claiming that the amount in alimony isn't enough. At least, that's what her lawyer told me." Bill was the victim of a horrible divorce, and was constantly having to hand over money to his ex-wife. From what Victoria had heard, she was not exactly a sweetheart. "But enough of that, I have to finish the piece about Lau."

"You know that guy has to be connected with the mob, why else would he skip town the day those banks are being raided?" Victoria shook her head as she said this. Just earlier that day five supposed mob banks were raided, but they were had already been cleared out. It's amazing, in a sick sort of way, how the mob still managed to control the town. She could only imagine how angry Lieutenant Gordon must have been.

"He was just about to make a business deal with Wayne Enterprise, too", Bill said.

"Really?" Victoria said as she crossed her arms. She wondered if there was some kind of connection. But Wayne Enterprise's was the last business to be expected to be associated with the mob.

"Speaking of which, you better not be doing anything next Wednesday night", Bill said, in a somewhat playful and yet mocking tone. Victoria raised her eyebrow and slightly turned her head, inviting him to explain himself. She knew this couldn't be a romantic surprise, their relationship was purely innocent. He was more of a big brother than anything else. Bill handed her a small piece of paper, "Read it." She took the piece of paper cautiously, and started to read.

"To Kevin Murray", she looked up at Bill. Kevin Murray was the Editor for the Gotham Times, "We politely request that you send your photographer _Victoria Vale_ to the Harvey Dent Fundraiser that is being hosted by Bruce…", she trailed off, and immediately darted her head up at Bill, who's face was covered in complete amusement, "…Bruce Wayne on the 17th. We are impressed with her work and would be honored if she attended. This, of course, would in turn give your well-accomplished newspaper excellent photographic coverage of the event, and you both will be well compensated. We look forward to her appearance", she rushed the last part of the note, and read the very bottom of the paper, "from the offices of Bruce Wayne?" She looked up at Bill, almost horrified. Bill looked like he had been suppressing the urge to laugh as he looked back at her. "This is a joke, right?"

"Nope", Bill exclaimed, emphasizing the "p" sound, with obvious pleasure. Victoria started to reread the note. There had to be some type of error, this couldn't be right.

"Why would he want me? Was Annie Leibovitz unavailable or something?" Victoria asked, utterly puzzled by this situation.

"Come on, Vic, you're Gotham's 'hot new photographer'", he said the last three words with a very wry playfulness.

"What are you implying?" she asked suspiciously. She didn't like the direction this conversation was headed.

An almost obnoxious smile spread across Bill's face, "I think Wayne's gonna ask you out", he said with almost a malicious exuberance, he had been waiting to deliver this punch line all day.

"Don't be ridiculous, Bill! He is not going to ask me out", Victoria was almost offended by the idea. Not only was Gotham famous for its vigilantes and madmen, but also for one of its wealthiest members; a billionaire who had a habit of making a spectacle of himself. On one occasion the man even burned down his own mansion during a drunken fit.

"You know Wayne's reputation", Bill said.

"I'm sure that he was just… impressed by my work", even she was having a hard time saying the words seriously, "it even says so!"

"Vic, I highly doubt that Bruce Wayne pays attention to photography that tries to spread social awareness", he pointed out. Victoria's preference _was_ to capture socially aware and political events.

"Or whatever _random event_ that comes my way", she thought to herself bitterly. She wanted to decline the offer, events with groups of extravagantly rich people milling around in overly priced attire guzzling expensive champagne made her nervous, but even Victoria couldn't turn down Bruce Wayne, as ridiculous as the man was. At least Harvey Dent would be there, Victoria had always wanted to meet him, the _white knight._

"Why don't we make a bet on it?" Bill offered, "Twenty dollars says he'll ask you out." He held out his hand, ready to seal the deal.

"You're on", she replied, shaking his hand, "I guess this means I have to buy a dress, doesn't it?"

"Make sure to get one where the back is really revealing, Wayne'll loooove that", Bill teased. Victoria scowled at him as she walked away, but then she stopped, turning on her heel.

"Oh hey, have you seen my wallet by any chance?" she asked. Bill shook his head.

"You probably just left it in your apartment. _Again_." He said the last word with a hint of annoyance. Victoria didn't argue against it, she did have a horrible habit of leaving her wallet somewhere in the catacombs of her still messy apartment. It was probably just in there somewhere.

"Ugh, you're probably right. I'll look for it later. See ya, Bill." She began to walk away again.

"Remember, Vic, really revealing", Bill mused. She gave him a glare as she strolled away.

"Hmmm, Bruce Wayne", she thought to herself. "Well, as long as he waits to burn the place down after I leave, it should be fine."

…

The weekend passed, and Bruce's efforts had paid off beautifully. Lau was now in police custody, and a trial was already set up. The mob was finally going down.

He felt strangely optimistic, as he looked out of his penthouse window. That day was going to come, the one Rachel had told him about. He knew it.

He smiled as he took in this thought.

That day was _finally_ coming.


	5. A Public Service Announcement

**Author's Note: Ok, so please don't hate me guys, but there's still another chapter until the fundraiser. I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, but what happened was originally this, and the next were supposed to be one chapter, but it was getting to be so damn long, so I just decided to split it into two. No worries, I'm already more than halfway done with the next, so it should be up fairly soon. Once again, I'm sorry D: PLEASE DON'T HATE ME.  
**

**Individual thankies:**

**SexySadie88: Something that Ms. Sadie here brought up that didn't even occur to me was Vic's appearance**. **The two actresses that come closest to what I picture are Sophia Myles and Kate Winslet. That's what I see, but if you feel like she should look like something else in your head, then that's fine. The only thing that's concrete is that she's blond, lol. Thank you for bringing that up!**

**Pirate College Graduate: As always, thank you ;) I love your long reviews, haha. **

**The King of Soda: I'm honored that you're looking forward to the dinner party scene, really I am. And please don't hate me for delaying it a bit D: Thank you again!**

Today was the day that Victoria had been dreading for over a week:

It was the day of the fundraiser.

The only thing worse than having putting up with Bill's constant teasing was finding an outfit. After an eternity of tedious shopping, Victoria had decided to wear a simple black dress. She stood in front of her full-length mirror, looking at the result of endless hours of fussing. The dress was knee length, softly hugged her legs, and to her astonishment somehow made her waist look rather small. "I guess that's what happens when you pay over 100 on a dress", she thought to herself, rather ashamed at her need to pay that much money for one article of clothing. In order to fund the shopping fiasco she had to retrieve money from the bank, since her wallet was still MIA. She sighed in annoyance over this thought. The sleeves were three quarter length, and the neckline scooped subtlety from shoulder to shoulder, extenuating her neck and shoulders. Her hair came down past her exposed collarbone, and rested there. She stared for a moment longer, looking for something that needed altering.

"Oh for God's sake, Victoria, you're the photographer, not the guest of honor", she turned away, embarrassed by her self-scrutiny. She was almost starting to let Bill's words get to her head. "Wayne is _not_ going to ask you out. You might as well show up in a burlap bag." She had been so preoccupied worrying about the fundraiser that she hadn't even realized that for a good few days, she had almost completely forgotten about that night at the office. _Almost. _But things seemed to be finally going back to normal. She welcomed this.

Even being involved in one of the many high statistics that Gotham was notorious for, Victoria still managed to see beauty in the city. Even though there was the mob, and people like the Joker, there were people like Batman, and Harvey Dent. There was something to be said about men like them, and tonight she would hopefully get to meet Dent.

"The _white knight_", she said to herself. The TV was on, mumbling in the background as Victoria went to grab her things. For the hundredth time, she checked to see that she had everything she needed. She looked in the mirror for the last time, and was as satisfied with what she saw as she ever would be. She only hoped that she wouldn't trip while wearing her special occasion black heels. Victoria laughed to herself for a moment.

"It's funny", she thought a bit dryly, "I think I've been dreading this night more than I dreaded running into the Jo-"

"A man was just found hanging dead from City Hall", Mike Engel announced from the TV. Victoria spun around, and turned up the volume. The bottom of the screen read "Batman Dead?" and the video showed what looked like Batman being lowered from a noose. There was something wrong with the man's face, she noticed. The camera zoomed in.

It was painted white with a carved red smile.

Victoria's eyes widened. "We just received this video, and sensitive viewers be warned, the images may be _disturbing._"

"Tell them your name", the patronizing voice lulled from the television. Victoria watched as the man tied to the chair sat there, defenseless. He must be the man now hanging dead from the noose. Victoria stood transfixed and curious. That couldn't be the real Batman.

"Brian… Brian Douglas", he spoke, defeated. A giggle emerged from the video, but it didn't come from Douglas. Who was it coming from? Victoria slowly stopped breathing as she watched, frozen.

"Are you the real Batman?" The voice asked, delighted and still cruelly patronizing.

"No", the captive said, weakly.

"No? NO?! THEN WHY DO YOU DRESS UP LIKE HIM?" the voice replied, changing from shrill to guttural in a matter of seconds. The faceless voice now taunted his doomed captive as he played with his mask, laughing.

"It can't be", her thought was barely coherent. She continued to watch, despite her horror, as did the rest of Gotham at this very moment, united in terror. Victoria was almost drowning in tension as the video continued, as she watched this poor man be slapped and battered. Her legs began to go weak.

"Look at me", the voice lightly beckoned, "LOOK. AT. ME", it now commanded, violently. Victoria eyes twitched, as if the voice was yelling at her and not Douglas. The direction of the camera turned, now facing the man the voice belonged to. "You see THIS is how craaaazzzy Batman's made Gotham." Victoria's fear had been confirmed. Her mouth dropped open, her throat too suffocated to cry.

It was him. It was the Joker.

"If you want order in Gotham, Batman must take off his mask and turn himself in", he continued, his face invading the television screen. "Oh, and everyday he doesn't _people will die_, starting tonight", the camera now steadied, as did the Joker's tone and gaze, "_I'm a man of my worrrrrrd HEE HA HA HA HA_" He laughed as his face filled with perverse exuberance. The sound of his laugh was invading and inhuman, mixing with the helpless cries of the now dead captive.

Victoria immediately turned the television off, and dropped the remote carelessly on the floor. She slowly turned and looked at the two rolls of film that she had almost happily forgotten about. There they sat, quietly, _staring_.

She ran her fingers through her hair and took a breath. At least now going to the fundraiser would help her focus on something other than this public threat. But she couldn't help but be afraid.

"_Starting tonight, people will die"_, she replayed in her head. People had already died, now more were going to. The guilt that had somewhat subsided had now resurfaced. Even though the television was off, she could still picture his laughing face, burning itself into her memory. What the hell was this guy going to do? Whatever it was, she had a horrible feeling that this was just the beginning.

"It's time to go now", she said to herself. She did a final check of her things, and just when she was about to head out the door, the worst possible thing happened.

Her mother was calling.

...

Bruce and Alfred stood there in front of the television, speechless. Alfred slowly looked over to Bruce as he continued to stare at the now blank screen. Bruce simply stood, appearing almost hypnotized by what he saw. A few moments passed before either of them spoke, or even moved.

"I should... get ready", Bruce barely spoke, his head completely immersed in another place. He walked away as Alfred continued to stare at the television.

"Of course, Master Wayne", he softly uttered. Neither of them dared to speak what was on their mind. Besides, they had a long evening to prepare for.


	6. Good Champagne

**Author's Note: Ok, so some of you are probably like "Hey, didn't you already post Chapter 6?" Well, yes, but it was a bit flawed. With the help of Ms. Lindsay (thank you!) though, I think I can honestly say that this version is better. It's not all that different, there are just some subtle changes that I believe make it much more plausible. That is my goal, I don't want this to be a Mary Sue (I mean, Victoria Vale IS a valid character of the Batman mythos, but still), I want this to be as realistic within that world as possible.  
**

**The King of Soda: I'm so glad you think it's wonderful, thank you! And here is the first part of the fundraiser. Please don't hate me when it ends, haha.**

**Pirate College Graduage: Thank you again for all the help, I love the chapter so much more now. I hope you like the changes I made.**

**SexySadie88: Yeah, that video creeped me out as well, but that's what makes it so damn good! I'm glad you liked the chapter, I hope you like this one too.**

**LOPE: Thank you! Yeah, I'd like to think the Joker would say that.**

**TwilightFan4Lyf: Yay! Well, here it is, and I hope you don't hate me for the ending (you'll know what I mean when you read it). It's always cool to see someone excited aboutwhat I have to write. Thank you!**

**Now... onto the (first part) of the Fundraiser!**

...

The elevator doors opened, and Victoria slowly stepped into the crowded penthouse room. She took a deep breath, trying to control her nervousness, but the back of her throat was still fiery.

"So", she thought to herself, "this is it. This is the event you've been dreading for over a week." She continued to look around, and saw all the different wealthy personalities in the room. She couldn't find Dent, or even Wayne for that matter. She stood for a moment longer in awe of the decadent surroundings. "You have a job to do, Victoria", she told herself. She took another breath, and walked into the heart of the crowd, camera ready. She decided for now to take candid shots, mainly because she was too nervous to ask the guests to pose. She then took pictures of the room itself, and its beautiful view. Practically every wall was a window, you could see the entire city from this room. "The man does have good taste", she muttered to herself. She still couldn't find Dent or Wayne, the two most important people appearing, which made her nervousness even worse.

"Enjoying the view, Miss Vale?" a light older voice asked from behind her. She turned around, and saw a tall older man with a tray of champagne glasses smiling at her.

"Oh, uh, yes, it's beautiful! You can see practically everything", she replied sincerely, albeit a bit surprised that this man knew who she was. She looked up at the tall man, remembering back to some of the articles she had read about Wayne. "And would you happen to be Alfred Pennyworth?" He was Wayne's legal guardian after the tragic death of his parents, and to this day has remained close to the notorious figure.

"Indeed, I am", he replied pleased, with a twinkle in his eye. Victoria smiled, as her nervousness eased down a bit around the charming butler. That would explain why he knew who she was.

"Well, this is an amazing place, I'm honored to be invited", Victoria said, trying her best to be gracious, despite her nervousness. Alfred nodded his head as if to reciprocate the act of graciousness. "I'd like to thank Mr. Wayne personally, but he seems to… not be here." It wouldn't be beyond Wayne to miss a party that he was supposed to be personally hosting.

"Oh, he'll turn up", Alfred said amused, glancing outside as if expecting to see something out there. "Champagne?"

"You're not encouraging me to drink on the job, are you?" Victoria asked jokingly, feeling more and more comfortable around Alfred.

"It'll be our little secret", he said, leaning in, with a whisper and his usual twinkle. Victoria laughed and took a glass, never being one to turn down free champagne.

"Okay, but if I trip or do anything awful, I'm blaming you personally", she said as she took a sip. Alfred almost let out a chuckle as he moved along, attending to the other guests. "If anything, this should help you ease up", she thought as she took another sip. At that very moment she saw Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes, the A.D.A., walk into the room. The wave of nervousness returned, but at least this time she was a bit mellowed by the champagne. She put down the glass and slowly meandered over to them. "Don't be so damn nervous, Victoria, it's your job to take their pictures", she mentally scolded herself. She took a deep breath, and finally approached them.

"Mr. Dent, Ms. Dawes?" she asked, with a surprising confidence, "I'm from the Gotham Times, is it alright if I…" she raised her camera, letting that action finish her sentence.

"Yes, of course", Dent said. Dent managed to flash one of his famous smiles as she took their picture. Victoria couldn't get over how perfect of a couple they were. The driven D.A. and A.D.A. of Gotham. But she couldn't help but get the feeling that Dent seemed wary around her, and this made her nervousness even worse.

"Thank you, and may I just say that it's an honor to meet you two", she managed to blurt out. She had been practicing this in her head for a few days now. Dent gave a small nod of acknowledgement.

"So, you're a reporter?" Dent asked, his attitude in no way unpleasant, but still exuding a hint of wariness.

"No, just a photographer", Victoria said, although in the past she had dabbled in being a reporter as well. Victoria could tell Dent was being guarded around her. She had hoped this wouldn't happen, but it was only natural. He was a politician and she worked for a newspaper, he had every right to be a little nervous around her.

"Are you their new photographer, Vale?" Dawes said pleasantly.

"Uh yes, yes I am", Victoria responded, surprised by the question.

"I saw your piece on the Danver Union Protest, when you worked for the Danver Chronicle", Dawes responded. Danver was a city fifty miles north of Gotham.

"Really?" Victoria responded, shocked that Dawes was aware of her previous work. She had done that piece over two years ago.

"I can't believe some of the pictures you got. I'm surprised you made it out alive", Dawes said. Victoria raised her eyebrows in agreement.

"How very applicable that statement is", Victoria thought to herself. Victoria had many bitter memories attached with that piece, that she tried to block out. The protest had gotten out of hand, and became violent. It also affected Victoria's personal life in a way that haunted her to this day. But she didn't want to go down that road now. "Well, you do what you have to", Victoria said.

"True, but you also need to be careful", Dawes said, looking at Dent after as if to address both of them with this advice. Dent smirked a bit, knowing this, but not verbally stating his opinion. Normally, he had no objection to speaking with the press. Public relations were one of his specialties, but being around this type of extravagant crowd made him nervous. He remembered what the Mayor had told him earlier about different people coming after him, including the press. He rarely feared such things, but seeing the dead body crash against the window made him realize that this was going to be different. Everything was becoming different.

"I'll definitely keep that in mind," Victoria once again seeing the applicability. "Well, thank you, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening", Victoria said to both of them.

"Of course, you too", both Dawes and Dent responded. Dent gave a little wave as Victoria walked away. Dawes was amused by the fact that being around rich people bothered Dent more than the mob, but she also knew how worried he had become ever since the dead body and the video threat. It seemed as if everybody had it on their minds that night, but was refusing to acknowledge it. Dawes scowled for a moment over this thought, and lightly squeezed Dent's hand.

Victoria was sad that Dent wasn't nearly as personable as she had hoped, but that was to be expected. At least Dawes has made up for Dent's lack of conversation, which made Victoria feel a little better. But there was still Wayne to deal with, whenever he decided to show up. For a moment she did toy with the idea of him asking her out, and how funny it would be, but also how _very unlikely_ it was. Her courage built up, and she finally started taking posed photos, and chatting with the other party members.

After a little while, everyone started to look outside. Victoria looked as well, and noticed a helicopter landing. The door to the helicopter opened, and there he was, the playboy billionaire. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me", she thought to herself as he brought out one.. two… _three_ girls out with him. "Were you expecting anything less?" Victoria asked herself. She immediately started to take pictures. She couldn't pass this up. He walked in with a girl on each arm, and the one trailing behind.

She watched Wayne address the party, with his infamous arrogance, and made what started out as a demeaning speech to Dent, but to Victoria's surprise ended with genuine sincerity when he said "I believe in Harvey Dent." Everyone applauded, including Victoria. She couldn't believe that someone like Rachel Dawes was friends with this man, though.

Although she couldn't help but see something in Wayne's eyes at the end of his toast, something genuine, something _more._ She dismissed this thought as she continued to photograph the event, and to her shame going out of her way to avoid Wayne as long as she possibly could.

Time went by, and eventually the sun had set. Victoria's nerves began to resurface, as she realized she couldn't avoid Wayne forever. She grabbed another champagne glass and stood in an empty area, the classic loner niche. "You're going to have to thank him eventually", she muttered to herself. She looked at her full champagne glass, and decided the confrontation would be easier with a little liquid courage, as she heard Alfred refer to it earlier. She started to guzzle the glass, shamelessly, and wait for the expensive liquid to take its affect.

After a few minutes of enjoying her break and preparing herself mentally, she tidied herself up, bit the bullet, and headed back into the well-dressed crowd, the champagne fully kicking in now.

"Miss Vale!" someone called out loudly. She turned around, hoping that her suspicion would be wrong.

It wasn't.

It was Bruce Wayne.

"Oh God", she thought to herself, "this is it." She gulped. He walked over to her, the playboy, the billionaire, the drunken arsonist, his arrogance practically suffocating her, holding out his hands, and then taking hers in his, with a large, practically obnoxious grin on his face.

"I'm so glad you could make it", he said, flashing a charming smile this time. He was a very good-looking guy, arrogance aside, Victoria noted. As Bruce walked up to her, he recalled his real motive for inviting her. She was a witness to one of the security guard murders, and he hoped that he could possibly charm her, and get any information that the police couldn't concerning the Joker, if there was any. She was also a pretty good photographer.

"Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Wayne. It's an honor to be here", she replied, with a confidence that, for her, could only be explained by the drink she guzzled earlier, but her attitude thankfully not revealing any sign of drunkenness. "_Dear God, he's holding my hands_", she thought to herself.

"Please, call me Bruce. I hope my not being here didn't stop you from having a good time", he said.

"Not at all", she replied. "But I am working."

"Did you make sure to get pictures of the view? I want to make sure everybody knows how great the view is from _my_ penthouse", he seemed to have no qualms expressing how proud he was of this place. Victoria couldn't stand how pompous he was acting.

"Oh, I got everything", she responded, thinking back to the three girls he brought. Bruce had finally let go of her hands at this point, to her relief.

"Now, eh… what paper do you work for again?" Bruce asked, doing his best to look like the rich socially uncaring playboy he was so infamous for being.

"The Gotham Times", Victoria said, not doing a good job hiding how astounded she was by his ignorance. She was convinced now that he couldn't have written that invitation, how could he be a fan of her work if he couldn't even remember which paper she worked for? But if he indeed _wasn't_ a fan…

"Yes, of course, good comics section. Now, you're new to Gotham, am I right?" Bruce asked. He could already tell she wasn't too impressed with him, but he had a reputation to uphold.

"Two months new", she replied, fascinated by Bruce's shameless personality.

"You know, you really ought to have a _proper_ introduction to our city", Bruce said, emphasizing the word "proper" in a way that made Victoria fear the worst.

"Really, now", she replied, crossing her arms. "And I suppose you would be doing the introducing?" Victoria normally was never one to talk back. It must have been good champagne.

"Well, I did grow up here. I'd like to think I'm more than qualified. And I do own the best places", Bruce replied, every word dripping with his ego. Victoria nodded her head and gave a look of mock agreement. "Do you mind if I call you 'Vicky'?"

"Yes, actually", Victoria responded. She absolutely loathed that nickname, "I prefer 'Vic'."

"Hm, I like Vicky. So anyway, _Vicky_, I'd really like to take you out, show you the nicer side of Gotham", Bruce suggested. Victoria cringed when he kept using the wretched nickname. She couldn't believe it was possible for someone to be _this_ arrogant. "You know, not everyone here is a crook or a crazy man in a costume."

"Well, Mr. Wayne, I'm surprised you'd have time for me, between the entire Moscow Ballet and the three supermodels you brought here tonight," she raised her eyebrows and smiled coyly, seeing how he could work his way out of this one. She couldn't believe she was talking to Wayne like this.

"Oh, they're just some friends of mine", he said, looking back at the three women, "their rides didn't work out, so we eh…decided to carpool", he uttered coolly.

"And here I thought you were overcompensating", she replied with equal ease. It must have been _very_ good champagne.

Bruce seemed a bit taken aback, but the moment was immediately interrupted by the sound of someone coughing. Victoria turned to locate the sound.

Alfred had been standing behind her, apparently not so subtly eavesdropping, doing the infamous faux cough that is used to cover a fit of laughter. He must have heard what she had said. Bruce looked at him, slightly disapprovingly. Alfred looked up, with a smile still on his face.

"Bug", he said, patting his throat, claiming that was the reason for his coughing. Bruce furrowed his eyebrows at him, but stopped once Victoria had turned back to face him.

"I suppose it's the least I can do, since you did offer me this wonderful gig", she said, coming to settlement. She couldn't believe she was letting herself give into this man.

"Fantastic!" he said. Hopefully on this date he'd be able to get more information concerning Victoria's near encounter. He also hoped it'd be easier for her to talk about it in a more intimate setting, not a party like this. "Saturday night, seven o'clock. I'll have Alfred pick you up." Victoria loved the fact that he didn't even ask her if she was available, he just assumed.

"At least I know I'll have a good conversation on the ride over", Victoria muttered under breath. She was shocked by how quickly it all happened. "Well, Bruce, I should really go back to work now." She didn't even bother to ask him if he knew where she lived. Someone like Bruce Wayne probably knew where everyone lived.

"Of course. I'll see you Saturday", Bruce uttered with his arrogant charm. Victoria smiled and gave him a little wave as she walked away, slightly dazed and horrified. She couldn't believe that just happened.

Alfred walked up to Bruce after Victoria had left, with the same smile on his face as before. "I like her", Alfred said as he started chuckling again, as Bruce once again gave him that disapproving look. Victoria didn't seem to like him very much, but then again, _he_ didn't like "Bruce Wayne" very much. Neither did Rachel, he thought to himself, replaying their conversation on the balcony. Maybe the information acquired on this date could get him that much closer to that day Rachel told him about. Rachel had to have meant it, she _had_ to.

"Bill, you son-of-a-bitch", Victoria muttered to herself as she walked away, putting her hand to her face, replaying the past five minutes, in disbelief. "God, now I have to buy _another_ dress", she thought angrily. Hopefully she'd be able to fit that in with going to the DMV. Even for her, two weeks was an abnormal time for her wallet to be missing.

Another half hour had passed, and Victoria was still recovering from Bruce's encounter. Even as she started to take pictures again, she kept replaying their conversation. "That's also twenty dollars down the toilet", she added to her previous thought, annoyed. Bruce Wayne was now making her life very inconvenient, she noted. She glanced to the other side of the room, and saw the very man standing there by himself. She watched him, curiously. And then for a moment she saw it again, that look in his eyes that she saw at the end of his speech. That look of someone entirely different than the man she just spoke to, and these rare moments fascinated her. He took his phone out of his pocket, and read something from it that made his eyebrows furrow. He walked out of the room, quite abruptly. Victoria watched the entire thing, wondering what it was that made him leave in such a hurry. "Hmmm", she softly exclaimed. She temporarily dismissed this observation and continued to mill around, the champagne's affect finally subsiding.

Another few minutes had passed, and Victoria decided that it was time to go home, her job was done here. She knew this experience had been… _interesting_ enough, there wasn't anything else that could happen to make her stay. She grabbed her things, but before she left she looked around the room one more time. She noticed that she couldn't find Dent or Dawes anywhere. "You should say goodbye to Wayne, you know", she thought to herself. But she couldn't see him either. She couldn't help but notice that it seemed a bit strange.

"I wonder if they're all somewhere togeth-",

_BANG._

Victoria spun around, startled, and located the sound. Her eyes widened, and her body went completely numb. She had to cover her mouth from screaming.

"Gooood evening ladies and gentle_men._"


	7. An Uninvited Guest

**Author's Note: Here it is, finally, the 2nd part of the Fundraiser, with everyone's favorite villain (The Joker, DUH!). Sorry it took me so long, I wanted to make sure it was as good as possible before posting it. Sorry that it's a bit lengthy, the chapters always turn out being longer than I anticipate. Also, since I don't plan on changing any major plot points, the first part of the chapter is may seem a bit boring because, well, it's what happens in the movie (although it is told from Victoria's perspective). But I promise that once the chapter progresses to _after_ what we see in the film, it'll get fun, so please stick around! Please please please! I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing this chapter, it's definitely the most fun I've had with this story thus far. **

**Individual thanks:**

**Gnome 3000: That is probably one of the greatest things anyone could have said to me regarding this story and Victoria. I'm so glad you're enjoying it, and thank you :)**

**SexySadie88: I'm glad you like her, thank you! **

**Nausicaa of the Spirits: Oh snap indeed, now you get to find out ;)**

**Razorbackgal0225: Thank you very much, I'm glad you like it!**

**sugar-high pixie: It's going to get more intense, hehe. And thank you**!

**Haladflire65: Thank you, one of my focuses is trying to keep everyone as close to their characters as possible, so I'm glad you think I did!**

**Lightning Angel 64: AWWWWW Thanks!! I'm so flattered, I'm getting all bashful now :P I'm so glad you like it, and sorry again that it took me so long.**

**And a very very special thank you to _Pirate College Graduate_. She was kind enough to put up with my incessant emails**, **and to be my beta for this chapter. ****If it weren't for her, this chapter would be riddled with grammatical atrocities, and wouldn't be what it is now. I honestly cannot thank her enough, so if you guys like this chapter, you should thank her too! :)  
**

...

Victoria stood frozen, staring at the Joker as he casually walked into the room, her hand slowly dropping from her mouth._ No… this…this can't… _she couldn't even complete the thought. Her breathing slowly started to pick up. She looked around, she saw the masked henchmen with guns, she saw the look of mirrored terror on everyone else's face, and she saw the grinning man responsible for it all. This was not a nightmare. This was _real_.

"We are… tonight's entertainment!" The Joker lightly proclaimed, as he grabbed and ate some hors d'ourves, and continued to move around, his casual walk now turning into a stalking crawl. His voice practically echoed in the now dead silent room, the air saturated with a piercing chill.

"Move it, sweetheart," a man in a clown mask growled at Victoria. He pushed her into a small space behind someone who was standing in the center of this newly formed ring. She almost tripped, since most of the feeling in her legs was gone. She barely noticed; she was too busy staring at the Joker.

_Why is he here?_ Her thoughts had finally become coherent.

"I only have one question", he stated matter-of-factly, still chewing, his body and presence now steadying and intensifying, "Where. Is. Harvey. Dent?" He paused, and looked up, waiting for an answer from the silenced crowd. At that moment Victoria looked around the room. Where _was_ Harvey Dent? Her thought was interrupted as the Joker started to walk, no, stalk in her direction.

_Oh God,_ she thought. She would have hidden, but there was barely room to breathe. The Joker simply moved along, completely missing her. She let out a small sigh, but there was no relief. She watched him carelessly grab a champagne glass from a terrified girl, take a sip, and slam the glass down. Victoria's eyebrows furrowed slightly. She had already seen him in person once, but seeing him this close was something else. Everything about the Joker was just… _different_. The way he walked, spoke, dressed, even the way he chewed was different, and altogether unsettling.

He continued down the frightened crowd, singling out people and asking them about Dent. He'd smack one in the face, taunt another, and no one dared retaliate. Victoria couldn't help but watch, reliving that feeling of fascination from when she saw him that first night. She then remembered the video she had watched only hours ago. "People will die…"

Victoria suddenly realized why the Joker was there.

"…Starting_ tonight_."

He was there to carry out his word.

At that moment the Joker went from calm to vicious in a matter of seconds as he grabbed an old man and put a knife to his face, growling something about his father. Everyone in the room gasped; what was he going to do to him?

"Okay, stop," Dawes said calmly, stepping forward from the crowd. Everyone in the room turned their heads from the Joker to her, including Victoria

_What the hell is she doing?_ Victoria thought, staring incredulously.

Dawes had dealt with criminals before. She let him prove his point that he was dangerous. There was no need for him to actually hurt anyone. She only hoped that she could distract him long enough.

"Well hello beautiful," the Joker purred, discarding the old man, immediately losing interest. His attitude completely changed as he slicked his hair and licked his lips, the knife still in his hand. "You must be Harvey's squaweeeeze," he said whilst pointing his knife, as if it were an extension of himself. He started to prance on over to Dawes, circling her, and smelling her like a fine meal about to be devoured.

Everyone watched as he closed in on Dawes, like a predator about to make its kill. He taunted her, his voice a poisoned lull, and then grabbed her face. Victoria gasped when he did this; she couldn't stand just watching, not anymore. She tried to shove her way forward. Victoria had no idea what she'd even do. As terrified as she was right now, she felt she had to do _something_. As she did a man in a clown masked stepped in front of her, and pointed a gun to her stomach. "Where do you think you're goin'?" Victoria hesitantly backed up, looking back at the Joker and Dawes.

The Joker began to tell a story. Victoria once again furrowed her eyebrows as he did this. _What the fuck…_ she thought. Why the hell was he telling a story? Victoria could see Dawes head slightly thrashing in his grasps as he became more aggressive. Victoria's grip on her purse tightened. Her nails dug into its thick skin as she continued to watch him tell his tale. The air became thicker by the second, almost dripping with tension. The story was about his wife getting in trouble with the wrong people, and getting her face carved. He told of how he carved _his_ face to make her happy, and she left him for it. It reminded Victoria of some sick fairy tale children read when their parents aren't looking. This guy really was messed up.

Suddenly Dawes kneed him, and Victoria's eyes widened. Any normal person would have responded with pain, but not the Joker.

He simply laughed, "Ooo he he, a liiiittle fight in you. I like that." The Joker started to close in on Dawes again, but he was interrupted.

"Then you're gonna love me."

Batman appeared out of nowhere, and punched the Joker in the face. Everyone in the room either gasped or uttered an exclamation. Victoria stared in complete disbelief. First the Joker, and now Batman? Was this really happening? The men that had been herding the crowd abandoned their posts, and were now joining the brawl.

Ever since Victoria had moved to Gotham she had hoped that she'd get to see Batman, but she had no idea it would be in this kind of circumstance. She watched him as he fought. He was just as skilled as all the stories claimed. She couldn't help but feel a wave of admiration flow over her as she continued to watch him. He _was_ one of the reasons Victoria came to Gotham. The Joker on the other hand, fought chaotically, but with a sporadic coordination that seemed to equal Batman's. The center of the room turned into a frenzy of costumed men fighting one another. She could barely believe what her eyes were telling her.

Victoria then looked down at the purse that was still being clutched in her hands.

Her phone was in her purse. With the men distracted, this was the perfect time to call the police. Even with Batman there, something told her that the Joker was not one to be underestimated. She backed out of the suffocating crowd to a nearby table. She could hear the brawling continue as she put down her camera and pulled out her phone.

Lieutenant Gordon had given her his number in case anything were to happen. Now seemed like a better time than ever to use it. She dialed in the number, and as the phone rang she watched the brawl continue.

"This is Gordon," he answered, sounding almost weary.

"The Joker is here. He's at Wayne's penthouse right now. The Joker and his men are here, and they brought weapons," Victoria spoke so quickly, her words were almost one large slur.

"Miss Vale? I can't hear you, you're going to have to slow down," he replied.

"The Joker is here at Bruce Wayne's penthouse right now!" she stated more slowly this time.

"…Oh my God," she heard Gordon utter, but her attention was caught back to the center of the room. The Joker had grabbed Dawes and just shot the window behind them. Victoria slowly lowered the phone from her ear.

"Oh God," she barely spoke.

"Miss Vale? MISS VALE?" Gordon yelled. He heard the gunshot, and feared the worst when Victoria didn't reply. Victoria put the phone on the table, stunned with what she was seeing.

The Joker was now dangling Dawes out the window.

"Let her go," Batman commanded.

The Joker's face suddenly radiated with mischief. "Ooo, very poor choice of words." He suddenly dropped Dawes out the window, and Batman immediately jumped out after her.

Victoria could hear Dawes' scream become more and more faint. She covered her mouth, completely horrified. The whole night was becoming worse by the second. Dawes had just been thrown out of a window, and Batman just left everyone in there with the man responsible for this entire nightmare.

The Joker laughed uncontrollably as he held onto the side rail, looking outside, watching. Everyone in the room became dead quiet. All that was heard was the man's echoing maniacal laughter, and the last of Dawes' fading scream. He turned around, jumped up into the air, and spread his coat out like a cape, flapping it. Everyone just stared at him, not knowing what to do. When the Joker landed, he kicked a henchman that had been lying injured on the floor. The man moaned in pain, and the Joker simply stood up, and looked around at the people staring at him. Every person watched, completely dumbfounded. He took in a breath.

"You know, for a party, you're all being very _dull,_" he stated nonchalantly, while moving a piece of hair out of his face with his gloved hand. The few remaining men that weren't completely incapacitated by Batman stood back up, and pointed their guns back at the crowd. Victoria moved back into the ring, compelled by the dread creeping up her spine. Even with the police on their way, she was still afraid.

The Joker slowly strolled down the line of frightened people once more. "Dull… dull…" he almost sang the word, like _eenie meenie minee_. He came up to an elderly couple. The woman clutched her husband for dear life, and she was too afraid to even open her eyes.

_Mo._

The Joker lowered himself so that he was eye level with the woman, but he still managed to loom over her with his savage presence. He put his hand in front of his mouth and cleared his throat. She flinched, clutching onto her husband tighter. The Joker looked almost hesitant to speak, practically nervous, but it was all part of his performance. "I think you and I should dancccccce, liven things up a bit!" he suggested, his voice a grainy husk that became electric with "liven". The woman shook her head, and her sobs became smothered in her husband's suit. He held onto her more protectively as the Joker stared at her. "What, you don't like me?" The Joker almost sounded offended. He stood back up, and rapidly pulled a gun to her husband's face. "What about now?" The woman screamed indiscernible pleads as he did this.

The husband stiffened with the weapon pointed at him. His body shook as his wife continued to scream. The whole room took a breath of trepidation when the Joker pulled out the gun. The image was becoming all too familiar for Victoria.

"Please, stop!" the old woman begged of the Joker, her words dissolving into her screams.

"Well, now you've hurt my feelings," he said with anguish, as he clenched his other hand on his chest, "I don't know if I _want_ to anymore," he growled the words, leaning towards her face. "Maybe I should just… kill him anyway." He pushed the gun on the man's face, and fluttered the once clenched hand with a bubbling excitement.

"No…" Victoria barely uttered. The old man standing there with the gun at his face, it all reminded her of that fateful night.

The Joker started to cock the gun.

_Click._

"Uh," the Joker quipped, his eyebrows raised and his mouth open.

_Click._

"Uh oh!" this time his voice higher, his body almost dancing. The woman cried louder.

The Old man clenched his eyes shut. He looked so much like Gus...

_Click._

"NOOOOO!"

Victoria's voice echoed in the now silent room. Every person in the room turned their heads towards her. Victoria immediately covered her mouth. She didn't mean to scream like that.

She lowered her hand, her heart now pounding in her ears. She looked back at all the faces staring at her.

_He_ was now looking at her.

The Joker stared straight at her, his eyes narrowed. The same paralyzing burn that invaded her body the first time she saw him now saturated her entirely, peeling away her senses, layer by layer. He dropped the gun from the man's face, and started to saunter towards her, a look of mischief revealing itself. _Oh God…_ She put up a fight as a henchman pulled her out of the crowd and almost threw her in the center, like a slice of raw meat being thrown into an animal's cage. She stayed on her feet, and kept her eyes on the ringleader for this entire evening. The entire time he simply looked at her, amused.

_This isn't happening, this can't be happening. Oh god, please wake up, Victoria. WAKE. UP,_ she mentally begged of herself. Her lungs struggled to breathe as she tried to appear calm. The next moments seemed like hours as they stared at each other, him continuing to almost dance over to her.

_BANG._

The Joker had whipped around and shot the same old man in the lower right shoulder. His wife screamed as he fell to the floor. Other people screamed as well, and Victoria had to cover her mouth to suppress her own. Her gaze moved slowly from the injured man back up to the Joker. He turned around casually to look back at the man lying on the floor, and then turned back to Victoria.

"Whoops!" he said lightly, as if he had just spilled a glass of water. His face then hardened as he continued to stalk over to her. "Why…" he tapped his finger on his chin, as if to contemplate, "don't I know you from somewhere?" He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, appearing to think.

_Please, please, please oh God don't recognize me,_ she repeated over and over in her head. _Even if he didn't, what good would it do?_ She took a stagnant breath, unable to blink or even think with their gazes constantly clashing.

"Ah, yes!" he said, coming to a realization. He hunched as he pointed his finger at her, "the _photographer,_" he said almost regally.

Victoria's entire body became completely numb. Her worst nightmare had just come true.

At that point he was only a few feet away from her, getting closer with each step. His stance straitened a bit, appearing like a vulture, _waiting_ for the right moment. "Mmmm, my my…" he huskily lulled at her, leering, his eyes inspecting her entire body. Victoria kept her eyes on him as he began to slowly circle around her. The way he stared at her made her feel completely invaded, almost _violated_. He licked the side of his mouth as he got to her side, "you're even prettier up close."

Victoria saw this happen before with Dawes, she wasn't going to let it happen again. She backed away from him, her eyes never leaving his.

"What, no picture?" he asked lightly, putting the gun away in a pocket. Victoria had backed into a henchman who pushed her back towards the Joker. Victoria wanted to cry, she felt so defeated, being tossed around like an old toy.

"He he, sorry, no running away _this time_," he said with exuberance, obviously pleased with the current fate of things.

"I called the police," Victoria managed to say, her voice barely faltering. "They're on their way." The amusement on his face grew, as he looked at the young woman trying so hard to look brave in front of him.

He took a step towards her, leaving only inches between them now. "The good little citizen doing her civic duty," he said with a singsong lilt, which became abrupt and harsh with the word "civic". "But you're not reallllly a good citizen," he leaned in towards her, his voice low, his eyes piercing, and his pungent breath now brushing against her face. "Are you?" He turned his head away from her slightly and raised his eyebrows.

Victoria looked at him, almost dumbfounded, but also disturbed by his question.

"You look like her, mm hmm," the Joker said calmly, nodding his head, "my wife, the one who _left me,_" he grabbed the back of Victoria's neck and forcefully pulled her close to him, his tone and actions now vicious. Victoria let out a small gasp, their faces now only a breath away from each other.

In a brief moment she now saw every grotesque detail of his scars, how they were uneven, deep, looking almost infected. He licked his lips again, over all the painted crevices, as if to respond to her observations. She looked back up to his large black eyes. They stared at her, reading every secret she ever kept, every lie she ever told. His free hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife, the other firmed its grip on her lower neck and jaw, pulling her even closer. She winced as his gloved fingers dug into her skin and pulled her hair. The Joker put the knife up so that it was eye level with Victoria, looking at it for a brief moment, and then looking back to her, grinning.

Her eyes widened when she saw the knife, mere inches from her face. The fear inside of her screamed and clawed. _No… _her mind pleaded. She tried to turn her head away, knowing it wouldn't do any good.

"You got the same… heyy shh shh shh," The Joker's voice soothed, now using both hands to hold her head. The venomous comfort in his voice prickled against Victoria's skin. She was trying her best to not scream as he grabbed onto her face. The knife's cold metal pressed flat against her cheek, sending chills and terrors throughout her entire being. He tilted his head down and licked his lips again as his grasps forced Victoria to look strait at him. She finally stopped trying to escape his hold, feeling more defeated than ever. His gaze intensified as he looked into her eyes, their malevolence mixed with a hint of fascination. "You both got the saaaame goldylocks, and the saaaame eyessss, but…" the hand with the knife let go of her face, and he started to point it at her while shaking his head, her eyes fearfully following. "…You don't have her _smiiiiiiile_." At that moment he grimaced an obscenely large grin, and leaned into her. "_Vicky."_

For a moment Victoria thought she heard wrong, but she hadn't.

"…What?" she asked, her voice faltering.

A triumphant smile spread over the Joker's face as he raised the knife delicately up to her cheek again. He took another lick. "You know-"

_BANG BANG BANG._

The gunshots in the distance interrupted him, and his head slowly moved in the direction of the sound.

The police were finally here.

The Joker looked back at Victoria, and sighed, annoyed. His remaining hand finally loosened its grip, and lightly smacked her face before leaving her.

"Well, folks, unfortunately that is the end of tonight's performance," the Joker said apologetically before taking a dramatic bow, and quickly smiling at Victoria before running out of the room with the remaining clown faced men. When they were all finally gone, people either rushed up to the old man moaning on the floor, or to her.

Victoria just stood there, staring into the distance. All sound had turned into a static ring as people kept coming up to her and asking her questions. The only things that she could hear were her thoughts, replaying over and over.

_You don't have her smiiiiile… **Vicky**…_ A nickname for _her_ name, and he said it. She knew she heard it.

**_Vicky._**

She thought she heard more gunfire in the distance, but she wasn't sure.

The ringing was louder, deafening now. Despite the hysteria that was slowly enveloping her, the only thing should could hear was the voice of the most dangerous man in the city uttering her name_._


	8. Buzz Kill

**Author's Note: Oh my God, an update?! No, I haven't died, and no, your eyes do not deceive you. That's right, kitties. After a year of trying to get my life together I've finally found the time to write again. I'm sorry for the long haitus, but things have been pretty crazy in my life as of late so I didn't have the time to work on the story. I was always thinking about it though. Now I have the time and will try my hardest to update as quickly as possible. I'm so happy to be working on it again.**

**Of course, who cares about me, let's get to the good stuff ;)**

**Also, thank you as always to the people who took the time to review. I always appreciate people's inputs and kind words. I hope this chapter isn't too anti-climactic, given the long wait and all. I have a few speed-bumps planned for these precious characters down the road so stick around :D**

***

Policemen raced into the room, surrounding the wounded old man and arresting the unconscious thugs that were left behind. The chaos between police trying to resolve the situation and the rising panic of the party-goers was almost worse than when the Joker was there just moments ago. Lieutenant Gordon ran inside and then knelt down by the old man, checking for a pulse.

"Get a medic in here!" Gordon shouted, barely louder then the cries of the old man's wife.

Victoria stood and watched as she tried to absorb the last ten minutes of her life. She saw the scene play out in front of her as clowns were dragged away and old men were surrounded by crying wives and policemen, but she was barely able to hear anything. All she heard was her heart beating ferociously in her head and one little phrase.

_You don't have her smiiiiile… __**Vicky**__…_

She touched her cheek where the Joker's knife had pressed expecting it to still be there.

"How does he know my name?" She asked herself softly. Paramedics showed up, taking away the old man, his wife being held back by a policeman. Victoria stared hoping to God that he was going to be alright.

Gordon stood with his hands on his hips watching the paramedics as they carried the old man away. He then looked around the room observing the panic that the Joker had ensued. He saw the video threat, all of Gotham had, but he had no idea the Joker would do something like this. He realized at this point it was time to get rid of all expectations and doubts. The Joker was utterly ruthless.

_This is just the beginning_, he thought. He ran a hand through his hair and walked up to Ramirez who had just arrived.

"We need to get statements," he said. Ramirez nodded. Gordon looked back at the corridor by the service elevator where some of the Joker's men were shot down. The policemen that remained on the ground floor never saw anybody exit the building. _How the hell did _he_ get out of the building?_

* * *

The Joker and the few remaining thugs ran down exactly twenty-three flights of stairs. He knew the police would use the elevator to get to the poor helpless party people as quickly as possible. The Joker practically jumped down the last flight of stairs to the next floor where there was a large black bag waiting on the ground. He picked it up and opened the door to the hallway where there was a large window at the end. The window faced the top floor of a neighboring building. He pulled out his gun and shot the window, shattering it into pieces.

He brushed some of the shards off of his jacket before opening the large black bag. Inside was a large grapple gun. He propped it on his shoulders making sure to get the right aim.

"I just _love_ this little toy," he shot the grapple hook then propped his end. He stopped suddenly and looked at the grapple and then at his thugs. He stood for a moment and individually tapped his fingers on his chin as if to contemplate.

"Hmm." He pulled out his gun and shot three of the thugs. The two that weren't shot looked down at their fallen brothers, somewhat startled, then back at the Joker. By that time he had already grabbed one of the handles and started to slide across. Exactly two handles were left.

A cab waited at the bottom of the neighboring building in the back alley, hidden from the main street. The driver's lip twitched as he waited patiently for his passengers.

***

The panic subsided as the police started to get statements from each person. Ramirez walked up to Victoria. They made eye contact and without having to say a word Victoria knew she would have to retell her experience. She took a deep breath.

"Is it OK if we do this somewhere less crowded?" Victoria asked.

"Yeah, sure." Ramirez replied calmly. They walked to a hallway, away from the crowd. The only other people there were Gordon and Weurtz who were deep in conversation. Weurtz looked almost as upset as the other people in that room.

Victoria started to tell Ramirez exactly what happened, going through all of the events. The entire time though her mind could only focus on that little phrase, wondering how the hell that maniac knew who she was.

_**Vicky**_.

She thought back to the night at the office, the night where this whole nightmare began. How terrified she was then and how it paled in comparison to tonight. She continued the story, but then suddenly puzzle pieces started falling into place. The right dots had become connected.

_The office, two weeks ago._

The mental light bulb flickered and burned with a bright vengeance.

Victoria stopped mid-sentence and stood there completely horrified. Ramirez saw the look on her face, puzzled.

"My wallet," Victoria barely spoke. Ramirez continued to look puzzled.

"Your wallet?" She replied.

"My wallet has been missing for the past two weeks. The last time I saw it was in the office the night I reported the murder." Victoria said, looking at Ramirez. Ramirez finally understood what Victoria was saying.

Ramirez opened her mouth as if to reply, but then something drew her attention down the hall. Victoria turned around to see what it was.

Batman was standing quietly next to Gordon.

From where Gordon and Batman were standing, Victoria and Ramirez were the only ones in the room who could see them. Batman said something to Gordon that prompted him to open the large doors right next to them. Inside was Harvey Dent, unconscious.

"Oh my God," Victoria said. Gordon gave Ramirez a look and she simply nodded. She put her hand on Victoria's back and lightly escorted her back into the main room with the rest of the crowd. From there she couldn't see anything.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," Ramirez said.

Victoria didn't want to wait there. She wanted to see what was going on with Batman and Harvey Dent, but she put her curiosity aside for tonight. For the next few minutes she stood coming to terms with her recent epiphany and going through all the different things that were in her wallet.

Her personal photos, her credit cards, her address…

Her address.

_He knows where I live_, she realized._ He's known where I've been this entire time._ Her throat felt like it was about to cave in. The man who just created all of this chaos, who just tried to cut her face open, knows exactly who she is and where she is. If he's known where she was this whole time, why didn't he come for her? He had all the reason to and the resources, and yet nothing happened. At that moment Victoria was even more grateful for the patrol car stationed in front of her place. Maybe that was the reason nothing had happened.

_Or maybe he's waiting for something._

Gordon and Ramirez both came from the hallway and approached her, interrupting her thoughts. The look on Gordon's face showed that Ramirez must have filled him in on her recent development.

"Is there anyone you can stay with?" Gordon asked. Victoria realized what he was implying and immediately thought of Bill.

"Yeah, yeah I think so," she replied.

He nodded slightly. "We'll send someone with you to grab your things. Get only what you need," he said. He looked at Ramirez and walked back to the hallway. Batman was gone, of course. Gordon let out a small sigh and then was approached by one of his detectives.

"They found three dead men on the 28th floor. They were wearing masks and there was a broken window and a grapple gun," the detective said. Gordon took a breath to collect his thoughts and contain the anger and futility growing inside of him.

"Let me know when Dent comes to," Gordon said. The detective looked at the unconscious man on the floor as Gordon walked back into the large room.

***

Victoria hung up the phone after talking to Bill. She thought back to a few moments ago when she saw Batman and Harvey Dent at the same time. She chuckled for a moment. Like many she suspected that Harvey Dent might be Batman. It was a logical assumption to make, after all. He couldn't be, though, not now.

Of course, if Harvey Dent isn't Batman, then who is?


	9. Desperate Times

**Author's Note: Welcome to all the new people who have subscribed! I promise this chapter is a little more interesting than the last. I realize it was somewhat anti-climactic, given the previous chapter and the long wait, but I swear there was a reason for me posting it. I try to avoid filler as much as possible. This chapter is kind of long, sorry about that, but I wanted to make sure and have the chapter end exactly where it did. Things are starting to get exciting for little Vic ;)**

**Individual thanks:**

**The King of Soda. I always appreciate your reviews and I hope that you consider this chapter to be more exciting than the last.**

**To the people who have been around for a while, I hope that you think this is up to par with what I was writing over a year ago. **

**Constructive criticism is always welcome, so always feel free to give me your two cents.**

*******

The two officers went inside Victoria's apartment first with their guns drawn. She waited outside, anxious. After a few seconds one of the officers came to the door.

"It's clear."

Victoria walked inside and immediately started to pack her things. For the first time she was grateful she had yet to completely unpack since it made grabbing things for a last minute getaway much easier. _Lucky me_, she thought to herself. She rushed over to her desk to grab her camera equipment and laptop. Even in this dire situation she couldn't be without her cameras and their equipment. They were a part of her. As she grabbed her things she saw the two rolls of film again sitting so quietly in the dark corner of her desk. _Those_ she was leaving behind. As she turned around she saw something that made her gasp.

Batman was standing in front of her.

The two policemen only noticed his presence right after Victoria had. They seemed like they weren't quite sure what to do and stood there rather stupidly.

"I need the photographs of the Joker," Batman said in what seemed like a calm growl. For a split second Victoria was dumbfounded that Batman was not only in her apartment, but speaking to her. She quickly came back to reality and grabbed to two roles and handed them over.

"Here," Victoria said.

Batman quickly glanced at the roles in his hand. Maybe there was something in these photographs, something useful, something that could get him closer to ending this entire reign of terror. "Is there anything else?" Victoria expression became perplexed. "Anything you haven't told the police?" Batman asked sternly. Right before Victoria answered she looked into his eyes. They were strong and intense. For a moment, though, something flickered across his powerful gaze. In that single moment his eyes looked vulnerable, almost desperate, as if he was hoping by asking that one question she would suddenly have all the answers.

She slowly shook her head. "I… I told them everything." Batman's stare continued in its intensity. Victoria looked to the side for a moment to collect her thoughts. "Do you think the photographs will-," she said as she turned her head back to Batman, but he was already gone. She looked around, but he wasn't there. Victoria looked back to the two policemen, but they were just as perplexed as she.

"Ma'am, it's time to go," one of the policemen said. Victoria looked back into her apartment, hoping for Batman to re-appear. She blinked and eventually accepted that he wasn't going to.

The three of them left, on their way to Bill's.

***

Howard Steedman had been appointed to be the new judge for the hearing after the death of Surrillo. For obvious reasons everyone remaining who was involved with that case was incredibly tense, but if anything the situation made Dent more determined to prosecute. Even so there was a strange somber quality in the air of Gotham ever since that horrible night. It was as if the entire city was united in its shock and for Gotham that was saying something.

Victoria had learned of the new judge at work. An advantage of working for a newspaper meant you were always on top of current affairs. Many thoughts transpired through her mind throughout the past two days since the fundraiser. Both of those nights she had nightmares and as time passed the dreams were starting to bleed into her waking hours. For some reason, one that she could not understand, she had become a part of this horrible game the Joker was playing. Maybe she was just unlucky.

_Does it really matter why?_ She thought absently.

She knew she had to become stronger. This was only the beginning and from now on all they could do was expect the unexpected. She also knew this was much bigger than she. Victoria was most likely an unlucky pawn in a much larger and more dangerous game. Either way there was one thing that was certain for her at this point. She had to be brave now.

If not for Gotham then for her aching back. Bill's couch was very uncomfortable.

That day Victoria had to drop off the photos from the fundraiser at Wayne Enterprises. She had earlier received a call from Alfred giving her the instructions to do so. She was relieved that it was Alfred who called and not Bruce. After the phone call, though, she had a random thought.

_Where was Bruce when the Joker showed up?_ It had just occurred to her that he had been gone the latter part of that evening. _Hmm._ She didn't completely obsess over the thought, but she was somewhat curious.

***

As Victoria was walking away from dropping off the photos at the large desk at the bottom of Wayne Enterprises she accidentally bumped into smallish man who had been carrying a folder full of papers. All the papers fell to the ground.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry," she said apologetically as she bent down to help him pick them up.

"It's fine," the man said abruptly with a nasal voice.

"No, really, let me-," she said as she tried to pick up some of the papers.

"I said it's fine!" He practically shouted at Victoria. She stood up slowly, surprised by this man's rudeness. She glanced down quickly at the remaining papers on the floor and thought she saw some sort of automobile, no wait, tank blueprints? Before she could examine them further he scrambled them up and walked to the elevator with a sudden smug smile on his face. She couldn't help but stare at this strange little man as he practically skipped inside the elevator.

"Hmm," she said to herself. She shook her head slightly and walked back outside. At least someone in Gotham was in a good mood.

* * *

Bruce was admiring all the new tools that Lucius had in the Applied Sciences Department. Lucius Fox came walking in, as always looking very calm and collected. Today his bowtie was red. Bruce smiled a little. He always enjoyed his friend's quirky style. Lucius walked up to Bruce and put down a small stack of papers right in front of him.

"I had a visit today from our friend Mr. Reese," Lucius said. "He came in with these, started to make some interesting accusations and demands."

Bruce looked down at the papers and saw what they were. His eyes shot up to Lucius and he opened his mouth about to speak, but Lucius raised his hand out of his pocked to stop him.

"I might have implied that blackmailing a powerful billionaire with violent tendencies was a bad idea," said Lucius. The corner of Bruce's mouth smirked just a bit as he raised his eyebrows.

"Is that ethical?" Bruce asked with a slightly sardonic tone.

"Well, it worked," Lucius said right before smiling with his cool demeanor. Lucius took the stack of papers, "I'm removing the remaining copies from archives."

"Were there any results from the photos?" Bruce asked. Lucius looked at him slightly shocked. He seemed to take the news of being identified as Batman fairly well.

"Facial scans came up with nothing," said Lucius. Bruce exhaled, disappointed. He looked down, acknowledging the dead end. Lucius could see his disappointment.

"Thank you, Mr. Fox," Bruce said. He walked away, trying to contain the frustration growing inside of him.

***

"All rise for the honorable Judge Steedman."

Dent stared at Maroni as he stood there with his signature smug grin. This couldn't be good. The only time Maroni gets that disgusting smile on his face is when he knows there's a victory ahead. The room sat down in unison as the trial proceeded. Dent couldn't help but be a little worried.

The main mob lawyer, a despicable woman named Vanessa Graham, stood. "Your honor, it has been presented to the defense that this entire case relies on the testimony of an _illegal_ resident, Han Lau-," Vanessa said with an oily ease.

"Illegal? Objection!" Dent cried. He didn't like the direction this was going.

"Overruled. Continue, counselor," said Steedman.

"Mr. Lau was brought here under very suspicious circumstances and without any forms of documentation, and being a Chinese National and not a legal citizen of the United States that makes his presence here illegal. We, the defense, order for the deportation of this illegal resident," Vanessa said.

Dent scoffed. This was their grand plan? No judge in her or his right mind would-

"I'll allow it. Since I have been made aware of Han Lau's illegal presence in this country, I order for him to be deported 24 hours from now," Steedman stated. With this one statement the courtroom went wild.

"You can't be serious!" Dent shouted. Without Lau they had no case, and then every single one of those scumbags could go back onto the streets. Surrillo and Loeb would have died for nothing.

"This is my courtroom, counselor, and if you continue to act like this I'll have you arrested for contempt," Steedman said with the utmost authority.

Dent stood, completely enraged. He looked over at Maroni who stood there with his smile growing by the second. For a moment they locked eyes and Maroni simply winked.

"Better luck next time, Harvey," said Maroni with a sickening suave.

Something grew inside of Dent, an anger that he hadn't quite felt before. He tried to keep it suppressed because he didn't want to make a scene. That would make those mob scum so pleased. He also didn't want Rachel to see him if he were to let that anger go. He took a breath and watched the hoard of corrupt cretins leave the room.

_Corrupt_, he all of a sudden thought. He looked back at Steedman with eyes that could have pierced the soul.

_Corrupt._

***

Victoria had been outside with all the other photographers when they heard about Judge Steedman's decision. She wasn't part of the crowd, though. She stood back at least ten feet away from them. She didn't want to be part of the rushing mob to get a picture. She was too interested in what the hell had happened. First Maroni came out and then some of his right hand men. After a few minutes Dent and Dawes appeared. Victoria walked a little closer because she wanted to hear what they'd have to say.

"We aren't pleased with the decision that Judge Steedman has made today, despite what his motivations may have been," Dent said with as much insinuation as his voice could muster. "But 24 hours is a long time. We are determined to prosecute, so that justice and fairness will prevail. Thank you," Dent said as he and Dawes walked down the steps.

_Despite what his motivations may have been_. Dent thought that Steedman was corrupt.

_What if he is? What would they be able to do about it?_ Victoria thought to herself. As Judge Steedman started to walk out of the courtroom an idea made itself known.

_What would_ you_ be able to do about it?_ Just like that first night at the office, the night when she became uncomfortably close to this world, she glanced down at her camera and then back at Steedman. _You have to be brave. _Victoria stood there and let this new idea sink in. Was she sure she about this? This isn't just some random job. This is different and dangerous. She took a breath and made up her mind.

She immediately walked away from the crowd to her car and waited inside patiently by the employee parking lot. About half an hour passed until she saw Steedman leave the parking lot in his car.

Victoria turned on her car and started to follow him.


End file.
